DALLAS: GUARDS: DARREN COLLISON's jump shot might be shaky, but he can get into the lane at will. He'll be a much different look than Jason Kidd had been in Big D . . . O.J. MAYO becomes the second option in this offense. He'll have the ball in his hands a lot . . . VINCE CARTER will come off the bench. At this point, he's a three-point specialist, and not a very good one . . . DELONTE WEST will back up both guard spots. Don't be surprised if he overtakes Collison at some point . . . RODDY BEAUBOIS can heat up in an instant, but he has work to do to make this rotation . . . DAHNTAY JONES is roster filler . . . DOMINIQUE JONES enters the year on the roster bubble . . . JARED CUNNINGHAM will learn the point guard position watching from the bench as a rookie. FORWARDS: After a slow start last season, DIRK NOWITZKI looked like the Dirk of old in the second half of the year. He's still got something left in the tank, but it's still unclear if the swelling in his knee will require surgery, something that would shelve him for more than a month . . . SHAWN MARION is still an important cog in Carlisle's creative defensive gameplans, so he'll keep playing big minutes despite his dwindling offensive skills . . . ELTON BRAND is still relevant, even behind Nowitzki, because of his ability to play some center . . . BRANDAN WRIGHT will be in and out of the rotation again, but he's now relatively healthy and showed signs of being a serviceable rotation player a year ago . . . Rookie Jae CROWDER profiles as a potentially solid second-unit player, but he'll be buried on this depth chart. CENTERS: CHRIS KAMAN gives Dallas some offensive skill at center, but he's not exactly the defensive presence they've needed. He'll log the bulk of the minutes here, but there are going to be a handful of games where the Mavs have to sit him and go small for defensive purposes . . . 27-year-old rookie BERNARD JAMES could fill Ian Mahinmi's old role of a shot-blocker/fouler off the bench.

DENVER: GUARDS: TY LAWSON has emerged as the closest thing to a No. 1 option on this team, and despite his size, he's proven capable of playing full-time minutes. He'll continue to post big numbers in an up-tempo system that suits him perfectly . . . ANDRE MILLER will both back up Lawson and share the court with him at times (though Andre Iguodala figures to play a lot of two this season). The steady veteran is one of the league's most underrated sixth men . . . It's a bit surprising that EVAN FOURNIER is making the jump to the NBA this year. His size and skill combo will be nice on the wing one day, but he's unlikely to contribute this year . . . JULYAN STONE will be out until January after offseason hip surgery, but he should be Lawson's main backup upon his return. FORWARDS: DANILO GALLINARI is their most complete offensive player. If healthy, he's capable of being a 20-PPG scorer . . . ANDRE IGUODALA should enjoy the much faster pace Denver plays at. He'll see full-time minutes between both wing spots . . . KENNETH FARIED isn't a skilled big, but he's a high-energy guy who can get his own points off offensive rebounds . . . WILSON CHANDLER could end up leading their second unit in minutes and points . . . COREY BREWER is a front office favorite. He'll stay in the rotation as a defensive presence/glue guy . . . JORDAN HAMILTON could break into the rotation. He's one-dimensional, but has the offensive skills . . . Denver will try to solve the ANTHONY RANDOLPH riddle. Don't expect it to happen this year. CENTERS: Denver is all-in on internet punchline JaVALE McGEE. They'll give the athletic 7-footer every chance to become the star they think he can be. Whether the flaky McGee can capitalize is questionable . . . TIMOFEY MOZGOV is one of the NBA's best screeners, but his touches will be limited . . . KOSTA KOUFOS has quietly developed into a usable rotation player, but he might be squeezed out of minutes.

The Denver Nuggets are jockeying for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, while the Dallas Mavericks are just trying to keep the league's second longest streak of playoff appearances alive.

Denver also looks to extend its franchise-record home winning streak to 19 games on Thursday night when it faces Dallas.

The Nuggets (51-24) hold a 1 1/2 game lead over the Clippers for third in the Western Conference. However, because the Clippers lead the Pacific Division and the Nuggets trail Oklahoma City in the Northwest, Denver is tied with the Memphis for essentially the last playoff spot with home-court advantage because it's awarded to each division winner, regardless of their finish in the conference.

George Karl's squad helped its cause Wednesday with a 113-96 win over Utah.

"It's a solid win for us in a race that is probably going to go down to the last week," Karl said.

Denver got the victory despite being without Ty Lawson for the fourth time in five games as he's sidelined indefinitely with a plantar fascia tear.

In his absence, the point guard by-committee duo of Andre Miller and Evan Fournier combined for 31 points, eight assists and just one turnover by Fournier. Miller is averaging 13.2 points on 50.0 percent shooting with 5.6 assists compared to 1.6 turnovers in five starts since March 21.

"He's just smart," Utah's Randy Foye said of Miller. "He plays at his own pace. No one is going to make him hurry. He does a good job controlling the tempo."

The Mavericks (36-38) are 2 1/2 games back of the Lakers for the eighth spot in the West and also trail the Jazz by two games. With only eight games left, Dallas' hopes of reaching the playoffs for the 13th straight season took a severe tumble with Tuesday's 101-81 road loss against the Lakers.

Coach Rick Carlisle's team had won four of five, but any loss the rest of the way becomes potentially devastating.

"It is a hit. It is a game we needed," Carlisle said. "I mean, Dirk (Nowitzki) understands what this stage is about. We have some inexperienced guys that haven't been here, so this is a valuable learning experience for them, but it has a price."

Nowitzki averaged 20.9 points on 55.8 percent shooting - including 47.7 percent from 3-point range - in his previous 14 games before being held to 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting against Los Angeles.

"He's chomping at the bit to get into the eighth spot," said O.J. Mayo, who hit 49.3 percent of his 3-pointers before Nowitzki made his season debut, but is knocking down only 34.6 percent of his shots from beyond the arc in 47 games since. "He carries a big load. That's why we're here, to help lighten it. We have to be ready to throw punches beside him."

Denver claimed a 106-85 victory in Dallas on Dec. 28, ending a three-game losing streak to the Mavericks. Danilo Gallinari scored a career-high 39 points while going 7 of 11 from 3-point range. Nowitzki was held to a season-low five points in his third game back after averaging 26.6 points in his previous 26 games against the Nuggets.